Five years of iPod nano reviews: a retrospective

The iPod nano has officially been around for more than half of the iPod's …

"Didn't you run over the first iPod nano?" an old friend who I haven't talked to in a decade asked during our recent high school reunion. "That was hilarious."

His statement echoed similar ones that I have heard from both distant friends and strangers consistently for the last five years. In 2005, Apple introduced the first iPod nano, a flash storage-based successor to the then-popular iPod mini. Everyone was curious about it—it was so thin and fragile looking! Could it withstand the punishing experience of everyday use? Could it really compare to the true iPod experience?

That's what we here at Ars set out to discover back then when we reviewed the original iPod nano. Since then, Apple has made annual revisions to the iconic device. Each year, there has been something new to talk about.

Our recent review of the sixth-generation iPod nano was published almost five years to the day from our original iPod nano review, so we thought we'd look back on five years of nanos to see how they have changed, for better or for worse.

The original iPod nano: run it over

At the beginning of 2005, Apple had just gotten into the flash-based market with the iPod shuffle and was already enjoying a full year of wild success with the iPod mini—a more compact version of its already-popular iPod. However, the iPod mini was still designed around the hard drive for storage, and the flash market was taking off. That's why, in September of 2005, Apple introduced the iPod nano: an impossibly thin replacement to the iPod mini, made of plastic and with flash storage.

Though there were many new aspects of the nano—in particular, it had a color screen and came with a very made-over version of the iPod OS—and most people were intensely concerned about the nano's durability. After all, people took those things jogging and biking and put them on their car dashboards. How could it possibly compare to the near-indestructible nature of the iPod mini's anodized aluminum case?

Well, we never got to test a mini, but when we ran the nano through our own series of stress tests, we found that it could take a lot of punishment before giving out. The screen was the first to go, but that thing was a trooper—it essentially turned into an iPod shuffle, even after we ran over it with "the crushing power of German automotive engineering." The world reacted with shock and awe (hence relegating Ars—and me in particular—to a lifetime of running-over-the-iPod-nano references), but the point was clear. The iPod nano could take a decent beating, and it quickly became one of Apple's most popular iPods.

Second-gen iPod nano: return of the mini

Second-generation nano on the left.

The original iPod nano was definitely a hit, but the thing that irritated users was the scratchably delicious nature of the plastic case. That's why, with the second-generation iPod nano in 2006, Apple essentially reverted back to the anodized aluminum case of the iPod mini. Not only was it significantly more scratch resistant than its predecessor, it was also available in multiple colors—another popular carryover from the iPod mini days.

Though the second-gen mini was technically thinner than the first (by 0.01 inches, to be exact), it otherwise mirrored the original in design. The screen was the same size and the device maintained its stick-like figure, though the display was slightly brighter, the battery lasted longer, and the thing could still take a beating.

Liked the 3RD gen the most. Still have it. The wider design was more comfortable for my bigger hand, and yet it's squat shape made it easy to balance the weight. I'd buy this last gen, but I'm wary of the possibly scratchy screen issues, which isn't going to be diff from any other ipod, but at least on the others it was mitigated by the colorful solid body.

went from day one mini (way back then folks on the street would ask to try it out) to day one nano 2G as the mini's disk was getting flaky, the 2G does everything I want and will keep using it till it dies, it still has nearly infinite battery life

As others have said, the 3rd gen nano was awesome. It may have looked a little weird, but I liked holding it more than I do my 5th gen now. If I could take the 16gb of memory out of my 5th gen, and stick it in my 3rd gen, I'd still be using it. I just ran out of space

On Another Note: What's with all the 'Featured' Apple articles. I mean, I know that their products are hot, but it all depends on who they're hot with. And I might be pointing out an unfortunate obvious, but the recent ones don't seem to be getting a lot of comments, or possibly even hits.

Hehe, wowie 5 years since it was released. I remember seeing the first generation nano and being amazed at how small it was. The 6th gen is even more small. Although I do think the first two generations were what made them so popular, small and still an iPod.

We had two 3rd generation iPod Nano's. One died recently, and we replaced it with a 5th Gen. For our use (at the gym) the 3rd generation unit seemed to fit better in the pocket, and was better weighted. Also, the 5th generation iPod nano has pointed out that all of our old Firewire based iPod chargers are now paperweights! Also, the iPod adapter installed into one of our cars also can't charge the new iPod.

I would have loved to have seen the iPod 6th Gen placed in a line-up with all the previous iPod Nano players.

Nothing more than what's up with all the featured gaming articles, which no one seems to complain about even if they aren't gamers. Apple just draws attention I guess. Maybe we've been more introspective lately, there's a feature running soon looking back on the Civilization games and we just did the Duke Nukem one.

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I mean, I know that their products are hot, but it all depends on who they're hot with.

Apple products are hot with a lot of Ars readers, but iPods are hot with way more people than that.

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And I might be pointing out an unfortunate obvious, but the recent ones don't seem to be getting a lot of comments, or possibly even hits.

Haha, the traffic on these stories has been great, no problems. Comments in general seems to be down on the site lately, maybe people are tired or something, I dunno.

Correction: The 5th gen Nano does *NOT* have "Built-in Nike+". It has a built-in pedometer that syncs with "Nike+ Active". You still need the dongle hanging off the end for full shoe-integration Nike+. I made that mistake when I bought mine, too.

We had two 3rd generation iPod Nano's. One died recently, and we replaced it with a 5th Gen. For our use (at the gym) the 3rd generation unit seemed to fit better in the pocket, and was better weighted. Also, the 5th generation iPod nano has pointed out that all of our old Firewire based iPod chargers are now paperweights! Also, the iPod adapter installed into one of our cars also can't charge the new iPod.

Popular as the iPod line is, it's a music (and ridiculously tiny video) player. What qualifies it for that much thought and emotion? Most likely, the important stuff was the music that was on it, combined with the fun times you had while listening to it. Also, it's been 5 years, not 20. Save the nostalgia for when you're old and pathetic like the rest of us. Now if you'll excuse me, my Victrola is winding down.

I saw the car and nano. My first thought was "Please Please run over all 6 nanos in a row for Posterity's sake!!!!" How can you talk about 5 years of Nano reviews without repeating the first act on all 5? I was disappointed time and time again that none of the nano's got ran over. Please Please run them all over. Heck every electronic from the kindle to iphone needs some sort of fragility test.

edit: On Topic, I really enjoyed the 2g Nano. I bought on launch day and that is the only "ipod" I have and it still works perfectly fine with long battery life. ( Off Topic: I have the 1st gen usb stick shuffle and iphone. They don't count as "ipods". 1st gen shuffle to me was a usb memory stick that also played music!)

( Off Topic: I have the 1st gen usb stick shuffle and iphone. They don't count as "ipods". 1st gen shuffle to me was a usb memory stick that also played music!)

Oh god, I have one, too. I had lost track of it for years and years, and only a week ago found it while cleaning out my brother's car. The bloody thing was dead flat, but eventually came around to taking a charge. The thing is still good for over an hour of playback, after going uncharged for 4 years, all while being frozen and cooked across all the seasons. For four frickin years.

3rd G has gotten some love here, and I just wanted to add to it. I had a 1G and it served me well until it got lost. The 3G still works for me. I like to use it to watch TEDTalks and for when I need more music variety than the Shuffle can handle. In many cases I bring both, and the 3G is the perfect size to sit in my wallet.

Like Halse, I love my 2nd generation nano: anodized aluminum skin, click wheel, 8GB, thin and light, and does the Nike+ for running. I use it every day and I'll be sad when it dies. When it does I hope the new nanos are back to having a click wheel and taller than they are wide.

The 3G was very love it or hate it, which meant quite a sales drop for the Nano as everyone loved the other ones.

Though the 5G is obviously the best of the lot feature-wise, I'm bitter about the way Apple just loaded it up with features hardly anyone uses just so they had an excuse not to drop the price. The 4G was more expensive than other flash-based players, but it felt like it was worth it. By the 5G, you could get the same storage for half the price from Sony (note Walkmans fully support all open standards these days), let alone what some Chinese brand you'd never heard of would sell for. Given that most people just wanted to listen to their music 99% of the time, the 5G seemed a senseless extravagance.

There's another vote here (two actually - my friend feels the same way) for the 3G Nano: I really can't see why people don't like it. The form factor is perfect for slipping into a jacket or shirt pocket (try this with one of the other Nano models: it'll stick out of the top and there's a good chance it'll fall out if you lean too far forward), it's comfortable to hold, the screen is big enough to be usable and the battery life is phenomenal.

All told, it gets taken out, about and abroad far, far more than my iPod Touch does.

Apple Technica again. Really just rename the site. Don't even try to pretend. ZOMG a new piece of Apple consumer tech: FEATURE STORY TIEM!!!!1!

The front page currently has three Apple stories and four Microsoft ones. The rest are general computing items.

You seem to have missed the point. Was my post tl;dr for you?2 stories about iPod nano FFS? Sound quality test at least, it's supposed to be a music player? It's just an Apple shill ad. There's over 9000 sites covering that already.By what criteria does that deserve front page treatment? It just consumer tech, expensive one at that. There's a myriad of interesting tech being ignored is my point.

I love my 3rd-gen Nano as well - and I have a great story about its durability:Lost it getting out of my car in about September, had no idea where it had fallen out of my pocket. Next April, while digging in the garden next to the driveway, my girlfriend hit something hard with the shovel, and dug it out thinking it was a rock. Sure enough, it was my old iPod. A little bit of drying and cleaning later, and it works perfectly, having survived being completely submerged under mud, dirt, and snow for half a year.

People seeing the new Nano as simply a "Shuffle-Plus" are missing the point. The real key to the success or failure of the new Nano will be how much people enjoy showing off what music they are listening to. None of the previous iPods really lent themselves to this, but the new Nano is meant to be displayed, like a piece of jewelry, and this is what Apple's ads emphasize. It has the potential to turn personal music listening into a more social experience: "Hey, you've got the new White Stripes album! How is it? Can I listen?"

Will it work? I don't know. It's a bold move for Apple, and it would be risky, if Apple didn't have the Shuffle and the Touch to sell to people who aren't enamored with the new Nano.

I wasn't really excited by the iPod until the Mini came out. I have a few Nanos of different generation, but have never purchased the "Classic" form factor.

Today the Nanos that are operational primarily sit in the glovebox of my car and in a dedicated wireless Sony speaker system that I have in the office. For all intents and purposes they are just mass storage chained to music players. I actually wouldn't mind seeing a shuffle with significantly more capacity and a standard dock. I'd rather pay for space rather than interface. Really, I should just switch to a USB stick, but I'd lose my smart playlists.